The East Garrison community has been under fire for several years because of street names honoring slaveholders and men who fought against the United States, such as Lee, Pickett and Early. On April 1, its board—along with county officials—announced a plan to solve the issue.
“We are going to eliminate street names altogether,” District 4 supervisor Wendy Root Askew explains. “It was the only reasonable step.”
In removing street names, officials are taking a cue from Carmel, but with a twist. Houses in the village of Carmel do not have street numbers. East Garrison board members voted unanimously to keep numbers.
Citing issues with deliveries and emergency response in Carmel, board members noted the importance of street numbers for identification purposes.
Street signs will be removed and names erased from all online maps by the end of the month. Residents of the community are responsible for changing their addresses with the post office, banks and all other services by that date.
A representative from the U.S. Postal Service provided a guide for those living in East Garrison. For example, the residence formerly at 16515 Alexander Lane will now simply be listed as 16515.
Elon Musk praised the streamlining of addresses, saying that it will improve efficiency. He called on all cities to follow East Garrison’s lead.
Delivery services such as FedEx, UPS and Uber were united in their approval of the plan. At a press conference earlier on April 1, a FedEx spokesperson took a swipe at Carmel.
“When we deliver to that so-called ‘quaint village,’ we might as well drop packages randomly on the street,” he told reporters. “East Garrison made the right decision. When we have a delivery going to 1424, well there can only be four or five possibilities.”
The spokesperson added that with so few houses in the neighborhood sharing the same number, there is a “good chance” delivery drivers and first responders will get it right on the first or second try.
“That’s four times the accuracy rate of Carmel,” he pointed out. “That could save a life.”
Carmel’s city council called an emergency meeting for Tuesday afternoon, April 1 to discuss the possibility of also removing street names.
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